T: What do you imagine when you hear the word “Australia”?
– What do you imagine when you hear the word “Australia”?
T: S1, What do you imagine when you hear the word “Australia”?
S1: I imagine the Opera House in Sydney.
T: How about your partner. What does she imagine?
S1: She imagines koalas.
What do you imagine when you hear the word….? という質問は、これまでのSmall Talkで何度か使ってきました。実際の授業でも、導入後に何度か使ってきた表現を用いると、生徒は問題なく反応してくれます。「積み重ね」による「定着」です。このように、1年間の授業を「点」としてではなく、「線」として考え、「積み重ねによる定着」を意識しましょう。
T: This year the last Friday of July, which is July 24th, is the National Sports Day. How about the last Friday of September? It is Save the Koala Day. Together with the kangaroo, the koala is one of the symbolic animals of Australia. What do you know about koalas?
– What do you know about koala?
T: S2, what do you know about koalas?
S2: Koalas live only in Australia.
T: That’s true. What does your partner know about koalas?
S2: She says koalas have big ears and a big nose.
T: That’s also true. S3, what do you know about koalas?
S3: Mother koalas have their baby in their stomachs.
T: No, no. Not in stomach but in her pouch. A baby koala stays in its mother’s pouch for five months. Yes, the koala is a marsupial animal. The kangaroo is a marsupial animal, too. S4, what do you know about koalas?
S4: Koalas move slowly.
T: Actually, it’s not true. Surprisingly, koalas can run as fast as rabbits.
What do you know about …? という表現は便利なもので、トピックについて生徒それぞれがもっている情報を引き出すことができます。そして、やりとりのなかで、それぞれの情報が英語でどのように表現されるかを共有するとともに、さらに新たな情報をも交換します。ここでは、意外にもコアラは走るのが速い、という新たな情報を共有しています。新たな情報、つまりプラスワンの情報がないとやりとり自体が予定調和になってしまって「面白く」なりません。
T: Interestingly, the koala is not the national animal of Australia. The national animal of Australia is the kangaroo. The emu is also a national animal of Australia. The national animal of Korea is the tiger. The national animal of China is the giant panda. What do you think the national animal of Japan is?
– What do you think the national animal of Japan is?
T: S5, what do you think the national animal of Japan is?
S5: I have no idea.
T: Then, what does your partner think the national animal of Japan is?
S5: He guesses it’s the crane.
T: Well, the national animals of Japan are the green pheasant and the carp. It’s surprising, isn’t it?